Armored vehicle



July 19, 1966 K. E. HlLFlNG ETAL ARMORED VEHICLE Filed Oct. 20, 1964 lllllll/lllllll.

INVENTOR.$ K5. HZ/fa'ny M4 Svanle Wik/amz 6L Jar ATTORNEY:

United States Patent 3,261,263 ARMORED VEHICLE Karl Erik Hilfing, Ornskoldsvik, and Svante Wikland, Gullanget, Sweden, assignors to Aktiebolaget Hagglund & Soner, Ornskoldsvik, Sweden, a corporation of Sweden Filed Oct. 20, 1964, Ser. No. 405,226

Claims priority, application Sweden, Oct. 25, 1963,

3 Claims. (Cl. 8936) This invention relates to an armored vehicle and refers more particularly to an armored car.

An important drawback of existing armored cars is their great weight. Armored cars which prvoide protection only against small arms and splinters, require an armor which constitutes the main part of the total weight of the car and which is so heavy that the movability and the radius of action of the car are quite small.

Furthermore, present day requirements made of an armored car are that it should be able not only to wade and pass through water-filled trenches, but that it should be a truly amphibian vehicle capable of floating. In order to achieve this the weight of the car per volume unit must be as low-as possible. On the other hand, existing armored cars have a weight per volume rate which makes floating impossible.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate these drawbacks of existing constructions and to provide an armored car the weight of which is low, as compared to its outer volume.

Another object is to diminish the weight or armor of an armored car without diminishing its safety factors. A further object is the provision of an armored car which has a high degree of armor protection and a great radius of action, which has effective armament and which may be conveniently provided with additional equipment, such as robot missiles; as well as protection against ABC weapons and radioactive dust.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent in the course of the following specification.

In accomplishing the objects of the present invention it was found desirable to provide an armored car having an inner main armor and an outer forming armor which wholly or partly surrounds the main armor and is located at a distance from the main armor.

The invention which appears more clearly from the following detailed description, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing showing, by way of example, a preferred embodiment of the inventive idea.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic horizontal section of an armored car constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention, along the line II of FIG. 2.

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the armored car.

FIGURE 3 is partly a rear view and partly a section along the line III-III of FIG. 2.

The drawing illustrates an armored caterpillar car having an inner main armor and an outer forming armor 12 which is secured to the main armor 10.

The inner main armor '10 consists of a totally tightened hollow body having an upper surface 14, a front surface 15 and a rear surface 16. Only those portions of the armor '10 which comprise the surfaces 14, 15 and 16, are provided with a few openings serving as air inlets, for the use of small arms and for entering into the interior of the armor 10. These openings may be closed by hatchway covers. Some of these hatchway covers which are located upon the top of the car are designated by the numeral 18. Covers provided upon the front surface 15 and the rear surface 16 are watertight, thus making it possible to use the car as an amphibian vehicle.

"ice

Bulkhead-like partition walls 19 and 19 are located within the armor 10 and they divide its interior into several compartments.

The forming armor 12 is located outside of the side walls of the main armor and it may have a substantially lesser thickness than that of the main armor. The hydrodynamic shape of the outer armor is such that the water flow resistance is diminished to the greatest possible extent. It is apparent that all projecting parts of the main armor 10, which are necessary to protect the equipment contained therein, are essentially covered by the forming armor 12. For example, portions 20 of a gun turret or the like which project outwardly from the sides of the main armor, are covered to such an extent that the outer smooth hydrodynamic shape of the body of the amphibian car is not detrirnentally aflfected.

The space between the inner main armor 1t) and the outer forming armor 12 may be utilized in numerous ways. For example, this space can be used for storing all weapons not indispensably necessary for the fighting ability of the car, such as rocket or robot weapons, or for its return to the base, as well as other implements and apparatus. The construction of the present invention has the advantage that the main armor can be located closer to the crew and to the vital parts of the car. Thus the volume of the main armor and, consequently, its Weight can be reduced to a very great extent, thereby greatly lowering the cost of its manufacture. Furthermore, reduced weight will lesson the force necessary for propelling the vehicle and the fuel requirements, so that the radius of action of the car will be greatly increased.

The space between the inner arrnor 10 and the forming armor 12 is separated into a plurality of compartments by bulkhead-like transverse walls 21, including rear compartments 22 24, '26 and 28. This has the advantage that these spaces may serve as trim tanks which can be flooded or freed from water when the car is used as an amphibian vehicle, depending on the existing load of the car, so as to attain correct trimming.

Rear compartments 26 and 28 which are located behind the compartments 22 and 24, may serve as cabinets provided with doors, such as the door 30 of the compartment 28 which can be swung open in the direction of the arrow 30 When the car is on land, these compartments can be used for storing small-arms, various utensils and the like, while they will be automatically flooded when the car is used as an amphibian vehicle.

Other compartments located in the space between the two armors are provided with hatch covers at their upper sides. They can be also used for storage purposes. Furthermore, they can contain filters used for air filtering when the .car is on the ground and when it is located in a region infected by radioactive substances. The air filters which are necessary for this purpose are usually quite bulky. The construction of the present invention avoids the necessity of placing them inside the main armor; thus the radioactive substances absorbed by the filters will remain outside of the main armor, so that the danger of contamination by radiation is diminished to a very great extent.

Another advantage of this construction is that while in prior art armored vehicles some of the equipment was locate-d outside of the armor entirely, in the armored car of the present invention this equipment will be placed in the space between the main armor and the forming armor. While the outer forming armor does not have the same thickness as the main armor, it will provide a substantial amount of protection for the equipment which was completely exposed in prior art constructions.

It is apparent that the example described above has been given solely by Way of illustration and not by way of limitation and that it is capable of many variations and modifications within the scope of the present invention. All such variations and modifications are to be included within the scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An armored vehicle, comprising an inner main armor, an outer forming armor surrounding said main armor and located at a distance from said main armor, said outer forming armor having a substantially smaller wall thickness than that of said inner main armor, said outer forming armor along with said inner main armor constituting a water-tight container, and bulkhead-like transverse walls separating the space between said main armor and said outer armor into a plurality of compartments.

2. An armored vehicle, in accordance with claim 1, wherein said inner main armor has outwardly projecting equipment-protecting portions, said outer forming armor engaging said projecting portions.

3. An armored vehicle in accordance with claim 1, wherein some of said compartments constitute door-carrying cabinets.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,380,393 7/1945 Berg 8936 3,176,585 4/1965 Ruf 89--36 BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner. FRED C. MATTERN, JR., Examiner. 

1. AN ARMORED VEHICLE, COMPRISING AN INNER MAIN ARMOR, AN OUTER FORMING ARMOR SURROUNDING SAID MAIN ARMOR AND LOCATED AT A DISTANCE FROM SAID MAIN ARMOR, SAID OUTER FORMING ARMOR HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY SMALLER WALL THICKNESS THAN THAT OF SAID INNER MAIN ARMOR, SAID OUTER FORMING ARMOR ALONG WITH SAID INNER MAIN ARMOR CONSTITUTING A WATER-TIGHT CONTAINER, AND BULKHEAD-LIKE TRANSVERSE WALLS SEPARATING THE SPACE BETWEEN SAID MAIN ARMOR AND SAID OUTER ARMOR INTO A PLURALITY OF COMPARTMENTS. 